As schools across the nation are gearing up to resume for another year, you may be planning one last hoorah. And, if you are anything like 83 percent of Americans and that final adventure includes a family road trip, be sure to arm yourself with some entertainment for your younger traveling companions. Otherwise, that trip may turn from great escape to a unescapable nightmare faster than they can ask “are we there yet?”
Here are just a few ideas, broken down by ages, to keep up your sleeve.
Teens
Photo Challenge – Create a list of items to photograph along the road trip (a funny moment, the best road sign, sleeping sibling, etc.) and have your teens compete for the best shots. Once you are home, you can sift through the images and create a Groovebook of all your favorite shots.
Not only will this occupy your teens’ time, give them a creative outlet and provide fun competition, but it also gives you a great memento from your trip.
Driving Practice – Prior to your departure, map out a few sections of your trip that can be used as driving practice hours for your permitted and licensed teen. Have themresearch the local driving laws for their stretch of road and let them take the wheel.
Not only will this allow for more supervised hours behind the wheel, but will also keep those sullen teens excited for the upcoming trip.
School Age
License Plates – Give each player a piece of paper and challenge them to find cars from different states via the license plate. As they find a new state, have them write it down and whoever has the most states by a set destination (say the next bathroom break, or the final destination) wins. For younger players, you can have the states already written out and then cross them off as they find them and for older kids, print out a U.S. map and have them cross off the states.
This is an ideal game because it can be a main focus or played in the background while other activities are taking place. It also helps school-aged children practice their geography, spelling and writing skills.
Alphabet Hunt – Similar to the license plate game, this game requires participants to search their surroundings and race to finish first. While driving, players search for signs, license plates and business names for letters of the alphabet. Each player begins with the letter “A” and progresses through the alphabet, in order, until each letter is discovered. When a player finds the letter, they shout it out so the other players know where they are in the alphabet.
Because it is verbal and requires watching the road, the driver can get in on the road trip fun too.
Toddlers
I Spy – The game is pretty simple. One person selects an object within view of all players. Once the object is selected, that person gives a clue to the object they have chosen by saying “I spy with my little eye something (insert object color here).” Then all players take a turn guessing what the selected object is. The first person to guess correctly gets to select the next object.
This is a great road trip game because it requires no materials and can last as long, or as short, as the players wish.
Magnet Boards – Grab a cookie sheet for each kid and create magnet boards to play with on the road to encourage some imaginative entertainment using magnets of various shapes and sizes.
While this activity requires a bit of prep work, the activity can be done quietly and independently, or be interactive and fun for the whole car. And, as an added bonus, once they start tiring of the activity, simply swap out the magnets among children, or from a separate stash.